Hello friends!
Starting on this gorgeous summer day, I have invited a young
friend to join me here. Arianna is thirteen and is becoming quite the young
lady. She has some questions, though, about our world and the way we operate in
it. We’ve been having some lovely discussions and she agreed that sharing them
here would be a fun thing to do!
Me: “How’s things today Arianna?”
Arianna: “I’m good, I guess. It’s ok to let everyone know
you call me Ari.”
Me: “Ok Ari, you guess
you’re ok?”
Ari: “Well, sometimes I feel kinda sad. I hear my parents
and teachers talking about some really awful stuff that’s happening in the
world.”
Me: “Yeah. Me too.”
Ari: “Is it all true?”
Me: “Some of it is true and some of it is misinterpreted and
some might not be true.”
Ari: “My teachers say we should pay attention to the news so
we know what’s going on, but everything is such a downer.”
Me: “It’s ok to know what’s going on, but it doesn’t all
need to be bad news.”
Ari: “Where do I find good news?”
Me: “You have to look for it Ari. You can start by finding
it at school. Good news might be at the bus stop, the grocery store, or on your
way to your dentist’s appointment!”
Ari: “Hmmm. Is it like last night when I saw a lady get out
of a car to carry a kitten safely away from the road?”
Me: “That’s a great start! It’s called finding beauty.”
Ari: “One of my friends gave another girl money for lunch
the other day. I thought that was beautiful. Her mom sometimes forgets or doesn’t have enough because her
husband died and she does everything herself. It made me want to do something
nice too!”
Me: “Yes! That’s what it’s all about! We can find or make
beauty any time, any place and it grows!”
Ari: “What about all the bad news? Is there anything I can
do about it?”
Me: “Ari, you have a big heart and yes, there are things you
can do. We can talk more about that later but for now, remember you are only
one person and you can’t change everything. Too much focus on what’s bad will
make you so tired that there is no energy left to do ANYTHING. Keep looking for
beauty and make it happen where you can. Beauty and goodness are the vitamins that will give you strength when
it comes time to choose a cause to support. In the meantime, will you watch a
video with me?”
Ari: “YES! I love watching videos!"
Me: “Ok! Here we go and get ready to dance!”
